


In Too Deep

by SinclairTopside



Category: Borderlands, Tales from the Borderlands - Fandom
Genre: Boyfriends, M/M, Nisha is my queen, Tales from the Shipperlands, slight AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-04
Updated: 2015-08-04
Packaged: 2018-04-12 07:07:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4469876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SinclairTopside/pseuds/SinclairTopside
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack sends Rhys down to Pandora to check up on one of the many mining operations he's running. He doesn't consider his boyfriend would wind up kidnapped.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Too Deep

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jettiebettie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jettiebettie/gifts).



> Based off of Hard Places by jettiebettie. You should totally read it cause it's crazy good.
> 
> Also sorry for my writing. I am shame.

It really had been a simple, routine thing. Rhys had helped Jack get back on Helios, body and all, and so what if they had sort of, maybe started dating? Rhys couldn't believe that Jack was real at first, that Nakayama had actually cloned his personality. But he had, and thanks to his creepy obsession, Jack was CEO of Hyperion again. Rhys had assumed he would be killed, or something along those lines. After all he hadn't been the most obedient person whilst Jack had been in his head. Jack, however, liked his defiance and as the CEO had stated “especially your face.” So instead of being completely obliterated Rhys was his personal assistant. Blah blah, a few months in and Jack may have totally pulled him in and started a fierce make out session. That tumbled into dinners, sex, and plenty of presents that Rhys barely knew what to do with. They were more or less boyfriends now, but Jack preferred to simply call him his whore, which Rhys had attempted to contest to no avail. 

Even before he and Jack had become a thing, Rhys had been and stayed supremely faithful. He helped with pretty important shit, he liked to think. After all, he had pointed out the best places to begin their mining operations on Pandora, and now he was headed down to one of those operations to check in on it. There was nothing to worry about, or so they had thought. There were Hyperion soldiers already making sure those that had agreed to work were doing just that. Rhys had a hand in that, as well. He convinced Jack to allow people to sign up for the work, promising pay and food. Jack had been a big baby about it at first, complaining it was a waste to spend money on them, but Rhys explained that those who wanted to work, would do so with more vigor than those forced. 

Now here he was, outside the mining operation in Three Horns. Rhys had changed his clothes from his Helios work suit, to something more suited on Pandora. Though Jack had made fun of him thoroughly, stating he looked more like he belonged in a club run by Moxxi. So maybe the pants were a little tight, but the sweater wasn't! It was a baggy, wool sweater, as Three Horns was notorious for snow and chilly conditions. Jack had insisted on his stun baton, which Rhys attached to his hip. He wore his black boots, a hidden knife in them, a present from Fiona. 

“Okay, so how is everything going?” He asked one of the miners. “Are we making any progress?” Rhys had arrived an hour ago, and sure it was a little weird when he couldn't find any of the soldiers, but this was a huge mining location, they could be anywhere 

“Oh yeah, going swell.” The man stated, smirking at him. Rhys' echo lit up as he scanned the guy as he turned away. No known name, no age on file, but there was in bolded red bandit.

That couldn't be right. They hadn't let any bandits in the operation, but his echo didn't lie. Rhys backed up as the man turned around, his eye flickering off. “What's this? You scan me with your fancy eye?” The man chuckled and pulled out a gun, and Rhys jolted. He ran as fast as he could, ducking into one of the carved out caves. The smell was horrid, and one light up from his hand showed him just why. So here was the location of all those soldiers. Rhys held his breath, listening to the sounds of footsteps. 

“Where'd that scrawny kid go?” The man from before shouted.

“We'll find him, not many places he can go,” someone called.

“Can't let him call for backup. We're close.” 

Close to what? Rhys bit his lip and held up his hand, the glow bright but he had to call for help. He had to call Jack. On the second bing he saw the man's face. 

“Pumpkin, what the hell's the matter? I can't contact anyone down there.”

“Jack, Jack there's bandits here. Everywhere. The soldiers are dead and I-”

“There you are.” The man, the leader he assumed, grabbed him by the back of the neck yanking him out. 

“Rhys!” Jack shouted.

“Let me go!” Rhys cried, reaching for his baton. He pulled it out, ready for use, but the bandit was faster, knocking it out of his hand and knocking him right out. 

\- - - - - - - – 

“Rhys. RHYS!” Jack screamed into his echo, but everything went dark Jack slammed his fist onto the desk, papers flying. How dare bandits infect his operation, how dare they kill his men. How dare they touch what was his. If so much as a scratch was found on Rhys, he swore he would blow the whole fucking planet up. Jack grabbed his guns and stormed out of his office. As much as he wanted to be the big hero who saved Rhys all on his own, he knew there was no way even he could take on an army of bandits alone. So he went with the next best thing. A team of four. 

Aurelia, The Baroness and his secretary. A woman you didn't want to piss off.

Gaige, The Mechromancer. A 15-year old engineering and mechanical genius with a robot murder buddy named Deathtrap.

Nisha, The Lawbringer. An old friend currently running a town called Lynchwood. 

He contacted Nisha first, which went about as well as he expected.

“What do you want, shithead?” Nisha was cruel, harsh and showed her care through name calling and a good whipping. 

“Nish, I need help. Rhys, my...”

“Boyfriend? Spit it out Jack. We've been friends since that shit on Helios and that cray ass bitch Zapafuck. You got a boyfriend, Aurelia told me all about him.” Jesus christ. The two women had been part of his hire all those years ago and to curse him, the two had hit it off way better than he would have thought.

“Fine. My boyfriend is down on Pandora. He was checking on one of the mining operations but it was overrun with bandits. It's going to take me and the girls a bit to get down there. Can you go there and start raising some hell? I'm sending you coordinates now, and I'll give you a shit load of money for your help.”

“Bandits? Ahhh, say no more babe. Though, I would have done it for free.” She chuckled. “Still, I ain't saying no to money. I'll head over right now.” Nisha cut the communication and Jack got himself ready. Guns, grenades, and a shield to protect from bullets. Only the best from Hyperion. He gathered Gaige and Aurelia and took the captain's seat in the ship. His hands gripped the wheel, knuckles white as sheets. He didn't believe in any god, but right now, he was praying Rhys was alive.

– - - - - - - - -

Rhys woke up with a groan, looking around him. He remembered the bandits, remembered what they wanted to do. He shot up and hissed, finiding his arms bound. He tasted blood. 

“And look who's up!” The man from before entered, arms crossed as he watched Rhys struggle against the rope. “Ain't getting out of their, kid. But you know what? You are going to die today.” The man smiled. “You see, we want that big ol' bad CEO to suffer, and based on that little call you made, you're his weakness. We're gonna let him thing he can get you back sage, and then we're going to kill ya.” 

“Why tell me?” Rhys glared. “That's a stupid plan anyway. You kill me and then what? Jack's still going to destroy you all.” Rhys yelped, the man yanking him forward. He closed his eyes, not sure what he was going to have to ready himself for, but suddenly there was screaming, shooting and a laughter he knew well. 

“What the fuck is going on?!” The man screamed, pushing Rhys down and storming out.

“It's Nisha the Lawbringer!” One shouted.

“What the hell is she doing here!?”

“Shootout time, boys!” Nisha's voice rang out and shots echoed, men screaming and the sound of bodies hitting the floor unmistakeable. Rhys sighed softly, thankful for Nisha's wicked fast draw. A body came flying into the tent, Rhys dodging it barely. What he did see whilst the body flew, was a knife, one that he could definitely use. He wiggled over, grabbed it and cut himself free. Rhys huffed, rubbing his rope burned wrists. He dared to step outside, just in time to find Nisha wasn't alone. Gaige, the head of robotics shot out of landing ship, screaming with glee.

“It's robot death time!” She cried, summoning Deathtrap. The girl began bludgeoning bandits with her wrench, while Deathtrap eviscerated those who dared get close to Gaige. 

Aurelia came next, raising a hand and directing her ice at anyone who came near her, or Gaige for that matter. When she wasn't focused on freezing them, she shot them with her handy Hyperion pistol. 

Nisha was shooting and whipping men left and right. If any three people could be trusted to murder an entire army of men, it was these three. Rhys had met Nisha on his first trip to Pandora, post the whole fake vault key debacle. She was terrifying, but also pretty nice when she decided she liked you. He had spent a night playing cards with her in Lynchwood. Gaige he had met when she'd been hired. It was a few months ago but she was amazingly talented. She could put together robots on her own! Not to mention they had bonded over their robotic arms. Aurelia was the most composed of the women, with her slicked back hair and calm voice. Though it showed quickly that making her angry was the biggest mistake of anyone's life. 

Though the person Rhys rested his eyes on was Jack. Jack came out last, shooting the bandit leader without hesitation, taking out several others. People liked to think Jack was just a CEO, but the truth was the guy knew how to use a gun, he knew how to manipulate machines. He wasn't just a CEO, he was just as capable as anyone else. Jack's head turned left and right until it settled on Rhys. He jumped down and came rushing over, smacking Rhys with his gun. 

“Ow!” Rhys whined and rubbed his arm. “What was that for?!” He hissed. 

“Are you serious?! You got yourself kidnapped!?” Jack shouted. Despite the harsh action, Rhys found himself being pulled close, their lips meeting. Jack pressed hard and long, pulling away only when satisfied Rhys had no breath left. 

“J-Jack.” Rhys clung to the man, Jack pressing their foreheads together. 

“Never do that again,” he whispered. Jack pulled away and shot a man running at them, glaring at the body that fell. “Scratch that. You're never coming down here again.” Jack tugged Rhys towards the ship. 

“Gaaaaaay,” Nisha called out, wiping her whip off and smirking.

“Shut it, Nish. I'll send down some cash the second we're back on Helios. Thanks.” Nisha hummed and gave a slight nod.  
“S'what I'm here for.” Nisha was the only one who enjoyed Pandora, finding it to be an excitingly fun place. 

“I wanna go back now, kay?” Gaige asked/demanded, climbing back into the ship once Deathtrap had vanished. 

“Let's go, sir.” Aurelia followed behind Gaige.

Rhys smiled. “Thank you for coming. I just...I'm sorry about this. I thought it was odd the soldiers weren't around, but I didn't think that bandits had infiltrated the camp.” Jack waved a hand and shook his head.

“Ain't your fault, princess. Just don't act so stupid again. I mean who loses their only weapon?!” Jack pushed him into the ship, Rhys whining.

“The guy was fast!” Rhys protested but Jack simply rolled his eyes in response.

\- - - - - - - - -

The second they stepped back on Helios, Rhys was dragged to the medical bay, where his wrists were wrapped gently, cream put on the rope burns before being wrapped up. “Jack, I really don't think this is necessary.” Rhys tried to tell Jack, but the CEO ignored him. Rhys followed after Jack, the older male tugging him into one of the elevators that led to his super fancy apartment. They had been dating for around five months now, and Rhys spent most of his nights and days off at Jack's place. He had a whole half of the closet! He had part of the vanity! Rhys wondered when his stubborn boyfriend would finally just ask him to fully move in. Vaughn already poked fun enough at him on the days he did come home.

They entered the penthouse in silence, and Rhys had just gathered his wits to speak when he was taken down to the couch. Jack's arms had wrapped around his waist, pulling him flush to the other man. It wasn't sexual, like most things Jack did was. No, this was...desperation. “Jack?” Rhys whispered his name so quietly he didn't know if the man had heard him. Jack did, and his response was to hold Rhys even closer. The CEO reached up and cupped the back of Rhys' neck, meeting his mismatched eyes with his own. 

“You're an asshole,” Jack hissed. “I've never been that scared in my entire life. For a second I thought I would lose you. I'm saying this only once and if you utter it to anyone else, if you even think it, I'll kill you myself.” Jack took a deep breath and looked at Rhys. “I wanted to strangle you at first, still do at times. You were this dorky, lanky kid that I was stuck inside. You were snarky and sarcastic and more than once ignored me to help your bandit friends. But, you also chose me over them and got us back here, to Helios. You went through hell, willingly so that I could be extracted from your head and given my own body again. Along the way we hooked up, as I told you we would, but it's more than that. Fuck...fuck I hate these feeling talks.” Jack scowled. “Point is, I really. Fuck, I'm saying it once. I love you, and if you fucking die on me I will bring you back and kill you myself.” The rant/confession had happened in a flurry of words, and for the most part he was silent, but that didn't last. Handsome Jack had just told him he loved him. Rhys' grin was beyond goofy and Jack glared at him. “Wipe that fucking grin off your face you shithead.” Rhys smiled and shook his head.

“I can't. I've been waiting for those words for so long. I love you too, Jack.” Rhys surged forward and wrapped his arms around Jack's neck. He settled in the CEO's lap and buried his face in the man's neck. Jack tensed but relaxed almost immediately, arms coming to encompass the smaller male. “Does that mean I can finally move in? I already practically live here.” He yelped at the swat to his butt he received. 

“Don't be a smart ass, but yes, you can. I don't want you going home to other men,” Jack growled.

“You mean Vaughn? Asexual Vaughn?” Rhys quirked a brow and stared at his boyfriend. This time there was a pinch on his ass, the brunette squeaking.

“What did I just say?” Jack was glaring but he had a smile on his lips. “You clearly need to be taught a lesson, princess.” 

“Yeah? Have I been a bad boy?” Rhys chuckled.

“Very bad.” Jack smirked and scooped Rhys up, walking them to his, now their room. 

Being kidnapped hadn't been on the list of things to do, but Rhys would argue out of all the things that had happened to him on Pandora, it certainly had the best outcome.


End file.
